In certain situations, workers in the oil and gas industry perform a procedure known as “hydraulic fracturing” during a well development. For example, in formations where oil or gas cannot be easily or economically extracted from the earth, a hydraulic fracturing operation is commonly performed. Such a hydraulic fracturing operation includes pumping in large amounts of fluid to induce cracks in the earth, thereby creating pathways via which the oil and gas may flow. Hydraulic fracturing pumps or “frac pumps” as they are known in the industry, are relatively massive positive displacement pumps capable of countering enormous pressure. Fracturing fluid (“frac fluid”), often containing water, proppants and other additives, is pumped downhole by the frac pump, transmitting the pressure at the surface to an adequate pressure in the formation to cause the fractures and fissures to form.
As the frac fluid is abrasive and often corrosive, maintenance of frac pumps must occur regularly. Also, because of the great stress on the frac pumps, breakdowns can occur, hence the need for prognostic measures. Conventional methods to monitor frac pumps for an impending failure include manual monitoring, periodic inspections based on operator experiences, maintaining inventory of redundant parts and components are in practice to counter failures. However, these measures are not very effective or cost-efficient causing frequent downtimes and subsequent losses in productivity.
Some advanced methods include use of sensors to collect operational data regarding health of the frac pump. For example, U.S. Publication US2015/0356521 relates to a system for oilfield equipment asset utilization improvement. The system includes a controller having an equipment confidence module that interprets a condition value corresponding to each of a number of oilfield equipment, a job requirement module that interprets a performance requirement for an oil field procedure, and an equipment planning module that selects a set of units from the number of units of oilfield equipment in response to the performance requirement for the oilfield procedure and the condition value corresponding to each of the units of oilfield equipment. The system collects data for determining condition values through various sensors such as accelerometers. However, for obtaining accurate data from the sensors, placement of sensors in such systems is of prime importance.
Thus, an improved system for monitoring a frac pump is required.